William ceaddock



(No Model W. GRADDOGK.

FIRE ESCAPE.

Patented Dee 9, 1884,

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\VILLIAM ORADDOOK, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

FIRE-ESCAPE.

: JPE JIFICATIQIRT forming part of Letters Patent No. 309,031, dated December 9, 1884.

Application filed July 12, 1884. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM CRADDOCK, of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Fire-Escapes, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in both the figures.

Figure l is a front elevation of my improvement, the vault being shown in section. Fig. 2 is a sectional side elevation of the same.

The object of this invention is to facilitate the escape of people from burning buildings when the ordinary passage-ways have become impassable.

The invention consists in a fireescape constructed with a carriage moving up and down upon guide-ropes attached at their upper ends to bars secured to the building, and at their lower ends to a bar or plate secured in a vault beneath the sidewalk.

To the top and bottom of the carriage are attached the ends of a rope, which passes around guide-pulleys placed at the upper partv of the building and in the lower part of the sidewalkvault, and around a drum placed in the said vault, the said rope being provided with a weight, whereby the empty carriage will be raised by the said weight, and the loaded carriage will be lowered by the weight of its load. To the drum around which the hoisting-rope passes is attached a large wheel, upon the face of which rests a brake-shoe swiveled to a screw passing through astationary nut, and provided with a key whereby the ascent and descent of the carriage can be'readily controlled. At the opposite sides of the drum are placed vertical rollers, to prevent the parts of the hoistingrope passing to and from the said drum from rubbing against each other, as will be hereinafter fully described.

A represents the carriage, which may be made of any desired or convenient size or style, and which moves up and down upon wire ropes or chains B. The upper ends of the guideropes B are attached to the ends of a crossbar, C, which is secured to the outer ends of bars I). The bars D pass in through the wall or cornice of the building, and are designed to be firmly secured to the frame of the said building. The guide-ropes 13 pass down through an opening, E, in the sidewalk F, and their lower ends are connected, by eyebolts G or other suitable means, to bars or plates H, placed in the lower parts of a vault, I, formed beneath the sidewalk F, and secured to the walls of the said vault or other convenient support. The opening E is designed to be made of such a size that the carriage A can pass through it readily, and is closed when the fire-escape is not in use by a gate, J, which is made in two parts hinged at their outer edges, so that they can be opened and closed without interferii'ig with the guide-ropes B.

To the top of the carriage A is secured the end of a wire rope or chain, K, which passes over a guidepulley, L, pivoted to the center of the crossbar 0, passes along the upper part of the building and over a pulley, M, pivoted to the center of a cross-bar, N, which is bolted at its ends to the outer ends of two bars, 0. The bars 0 pass in through the wall or cornice of the building, and are securely bolted to the frame of the said building. From the pulley M the rope or chain K passes down along the side of the building, passes through. an opening, 1?, in the sidewalk F, passes around a pulley, Q, pivoted to a bracket or other support attached to the bar or plate H, and passes thence to and around a drum, R, journaled to supports formed in or secured to the walls of the vault I. From the drum It the rope K passes to and around a pulley, S, pivoted to a bracket 01' other support attached to the bar or plate H, and passes up and is at tached to the bottom of the carriage A,the point of attachment and the position of the pulley S being so arranged that the rope K will pass the guide-rope B without touching it.

To the rope K, between the pulley MI and the sidewalk F, is attached a weight, T, in such a position as to be up when the carriage A is down and down when the carriage is up, and of such a gravity as to over-balance and raise the carriage A when empty.-

To the drum R is attached a large wheel, U, upon the face of which rests the brake-shoe V.

To the brake-shoe V is swiveled a screw, WV, which passes through a nut, X, secured in an aperture in the sidewalk F. The upper end of the swiveled screw \V is squared to fit into the socket of a key, Y, so that by turning the said key the brake-shoe V can be forced down upon the wheel U with. any desired force, and the descent of the carriage can be readily controlled by a person upon the sidewalk. The key Y, when not required for use, can be locked to a staple or other support attached to the side of the building or the wall of the vault I, near the opening E. When the key Y is detached, the key-hole in the sidewalk is closed with a cover, Z, to prevent the screw W from becoming clogged with dirt. Upon the opposite sides of the drum R are placed two vertical rollers, 1, thelower ends of which are piv-.

' oted to the bar or plate H, and their upper ends are pivoted to a support in the upper part of the vault I. The rollers 1 are so placed as to prevent the parts of the hoisting-rope K that pass to and from the drum from rubbing against each other.

In using the fire-escape a person upon the sidewalk, having control of the key Y, applies the said key to the screw W and loosens the brake-shoe V, which allows the weight '1 to raise the carriage. When the carriage has been raised to the desired height,the brake-shoe V is again tightened to hold the carriage in place while being loaded. IVhen the carriage is loaded, the brake-shoe is loosened sufficiently to allow the carriage to descend with the desired rapidity. In the same manner the carriage can be sent up and down until all the occupants of the building have been lowered.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a fire-escape, the combination, with the guide-ropes B, arranged at the side of a building, of the carriage A, the rope K, having its ends attached to the top and bottom of the car and passing around guide-pulleys,and a drum arranged belowthe'sidewallgthe weight T on said rope, and a brake mechanism for said drum, substantially as herein shown and described.

2. In a fire-escape, the combination, with.

thetop supporting-bars, O D, the bottom plate, H, and the guide-ropes B, of the car A, the pulleys L M Q S, the rope K, the drum R, the wheel U, and the brake, substantially as herein shown and described.

3. In a fire-escape, the combination, with ILLIADI CRADDOOK.

Witnesses: A

H. A. WVEs'r, O. SEDGWICK. 

